OPENING STATEMENT: "Alright, really, there are no injuries to report. We came out of the game pretty clean. Then, I know the linebacker situation is the one that you're interested in. D.J. [Derrick Johnson] did tear his Achilles. So, with the exception of D.J.'s Achilles, everything was alright as far as the injuries went. John [Dorsey] is going through the process right now looking at linebackers. We feel comfortable that we have some guys here that can fill in and have filled in between D.J. Alexander, [Frank] Zombo. I think we're still okay in that area if we didn't do anything. We also have Justin March-Lillard who's eligible to come back up, so he's someone we're looking at also. Dorsey brought some guys in to also look at. So, we'll know more, I'm sure, throughout the day here.
Obviously, we had a chance to look at the games that went on yesterday, in particular, Denver versus Tennessee. We know what kind of team is coming in here. They beat Denver – hands down beat Denver with Denver's players – the quarterback was back. So, we have to stay focused on that. We know it's going to be a battle. They're well coached, and they have good players. They've been playing real good football here, so we really have to get ourselves ready this week for a good football team."
Q: How do you account for losing D.J.'s [Derrick Johnson's] leadership on and off the field?
REID: "Well, you aren't going to replace him in that part. You're talking about a Pro-Bowl player and definitely one of the leaders on the defense. We're fortunate that we have Eric Berry, Justin Houston and Dontari Poe; we've got some guys that are good leaders there. Those will be the guys that replace him."
Q: Is it much of an edge to have these extra couple days off after the game Thursday?
REID: "Yeah, I would tell you just the fact that the players could rest up a little bit is a plus this late in the year. I mean that's one of the benefits with having a Thursday game. It might be the only benefit with having a Thursday game, but they get a few extra days here to rest up."
Q: What was their schedule? Did you bring them in on Friday?
REID: "I just got them out of here. I got them out. They'll come in tomorrow."
Q: The number of plays in the last couple games – opposition has been running about 25 more – is that something that you'd like to see closed up a little bit?
REID: "We have to do a better job at sustaining drives. If you're scoring a ton of points and doing it quickly, then you don't mind it. You don't want to have time of possession down in the end – scoring downs. So, we're scoring enough to win the game, which is the most important thing. You'd like to hang on to it a little bit longer."
Q:What have you seen from Marcus Mariota from when he first entered the league to where he is now?
REID:"He's having a heck of a year. His ability to throw the football and read the defenses have come a long ways. Things have slowed down for him. The addition of the run game has also helped their football team. You can see that he's more comfortable now then he was when he first came in. He's healthy now too, which helps."
Q:What have you seen from Tennessee's run game?
REID:"Yesterday they were a downhill bunch. They've also got a good perimeter game so you've got to be sound in that area. They're well-coached, so they've got good schemes and they're executing. Their runners, even as old as that one guy [DeMarco Murray] is, he can bring it. And then they've got the young kid [Derrick Henry] that is a talented kid. He won the Heisman Trophy and he's carrying that over. Both of them are big guys and can play physical football."
Q:As the playoff picture forms, is it something you remind the guys of or do they do that themselves?
REID:"I don't get into it much, but the obvious is that we're all kinds of clumped in here. Every game is important. It hasn't changed from when I talked to them over the last couple weeks here. Every game is important as you go down the stretch. Nothing has been declared yet, so you've got to keep the pedal to the metal."
Q:Does the Titans game, being tucked between two divisional rivalries, have everyone's full attention?
REID:"You're at the end of the year -- so you understand that you can't overlook anything. You're down to three games and every one of them is important."
Q:With regards to the team's own limited rushing attack, is that on the Chiefs? Or is it something opponents have been taking away?
REID:"They've done pretty good against us, but we can do a better job there. We've got to make sure we get that cleaned up and give guys an opportunity to do that."
Q:Can you speak on the job Bob Sutton and Dave Toub have done on defense and special teams to create units that are so explosive?
REID:"We're getting scoring from all three phases, which is big. With Dave, I'm partial, I think he's the best in the business. He's definitely one of the best in the business. He's done a nice job with the crew that he's got. He does it in both the return and return coverage games. It's year-in and year-out that he puts together a good product. And the guys believe in what he's doing -- they buy in to it. They don't look at it as a 'special teams being over here' and 'offense/defense over here'. We're all in this together and the guys take a lot of pride in it."
Q: What is it about Dave Toub, what makes him a good special team's coach?
REID: "I'll tell you the same thing that I felt about John Harbaugh. I think those guys are the closest to being a head coach just by having to deal with everybody, along with the media, they're as much ready as anybody to be a head coach in this league and it's just that. Dave [Toub] understands all the different positions, he's going to play to your strength and try to work on getting you better at your weakness and kind of give you an opportunity to exploit that, to really show that off."
Q: Do you feel like you guys build your roster with an eye towards special teams any more or any less than you did in Philadelphia or any other team might?
REID: "No I don't think so necessarily. I give the same speech to the guys during training camp that there are certain guys in the room that are going to make the team because of their ability to play on special teams. We're pretty good there and we're doing a nice job here so we'll keep guys now for that role. The words aren't just idle words. We try to make sure that we look at that part aggressively."
Q: Looking like you're going to get Jamaal Charles back at some point?
REID: "I don't know that. He's still down at Dr. Andrews rehabbing down there. They're working on getting the swelling out of his knees or out of his one knee in particular. We'll see how all of this works down the road. That's Dorsey's area, but I know that part that I just told you. That decision will be made down the road."
Q: What do you feel it says about your team to have the eleven-day spin that they did and then to be able to perform at the level that they did?
REID: "I mentioned this the other day that it was gritty, gritty performance. That's a tough thing to do, put that many games in that short period of time and play at a high level against really good football teams. I think credit is due there, but now you're back. In the NFL world that was great, but what will we do today and tomorrow and so on and that's where we're at right now."
